HEAR CHRIST, that formed by Him thou mayest be;
THINK CHRIST, for as a man thinks, such is he;
LIVE CHRIST, that all men Him in thee may see;
SPEAK CHRIST, that all may hear of Him thro’ thee:
So shalt thou please the heart of Him who planned,
Before were fashioned heaven, sea, or land,
That thou among His many sons should stand,
Like Jesus, Chief and Firstborn of the band:
So shall ungrieved the Holy Spirit be,
To give thee power the unseen things to see,
And in His high and holy office
To work the blessed will of God in thee:
So shalt thou be a tower of strength to those
Who in a lonely land beset by foes,
And fainting under all their weight of woes,
Their souls to every fiery dart expose.
So shalt thou be in this dark world a light
To guide, thro’ the dark mazes of the night,
The painful footsteps of the pilgrim, right
To where the ransomed walk with Christ in white.
And when the desert path has all been trod,
And when no more is needed staff or rod;
When from celestial heights thou look’st abroad,
How sweet to thee shall be the rest of God!